Hayes (A Carolina Cyclones Story)

11.

Hayes

"What are you smiling about?" Wesley asks as he exits the bathroom of our hotel room a white towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hand as he dries off his hair.

"I can't just be happy?" I retort, shuffling through channels on the tv as I lounge across my bed for the night. Wesley and I have been road game roommates since I was traded to the Cyclones three years ago. He's been a member of the Cyclones since they were added as an expansion team two years before that.

"I mean...you could." He says, throwing his towels on the floor and quickly dressing. "But considering we just got our asses handed to us by one of the bottom feeding teams of the league, I feel like there might be a story there."

"To be fair, I played maybe eight minutes and you played what, ten? Beau was benched for the backup goalie, I mean we locked up the division, Coach is just letting us rest for the playoffs and giving some of the younger guys time on the ice for experience so I'm not really taking that loss to heart."

"Okay well, besides that. You're a happy guy sure but you look like a fucking clown with how big you were smiling and I wanna know why." His face is set in a determined look, his arms crossed over his body.

"Youre a nosey fucker you know that?"

"Yep. Now spill it."

I groan and sit up. My hands are clasped in my lap while I silently wage an internal war over exactly how honest to be. I like Wesley, we're friends–teammates, but that doesn't mean I talk to him about my personal life. Not that there's really ever been anything to talk about like this before since I've known him.

"There's a girl." I admit, letting myself flop back against the bed.

"So I guess that means you aren't gay." He says nonchalantly and I turn my head to stare at him.

"You thought I was gay? What the fuck?"

"I mean–I guess you could still be bi–and that's totally fine if you are!" He rushes and I throw a pillow at him.

"Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, but I like pussy you asshole. Why would you think I was gay?"

Wes shrugs. "I don't know. You don't really hang out with us and I've never seen you show any interest in the puck bunnies or... women in general for that matter. I just thought it might be a possibility."

Jesus. Is my whole team questioning my sexuality?

"That's a can of worms for a different day. There's a woman. She's actually working on the revamp of the arena, doing some of the artwork and all in the locker room and concourses."

"Makes sense you'd meet her at the arena since you hardly go anywhere else." His jabs are annoying me now and I set him with a look.

"Fine, continue." He flourishes his hand at me.

"I don't know man, I don't really do this. Since I was a kid I've always been so focused on my career and maintaining consistency. Women are a distraction, that's what I've always believed and she's already sort of proving herself to be one. I've been late to practice–" 'You've never been late a day in your life." Wes interrupts.

"Late for me, bro. I like to be the first one here, it's important for me to set an example for everyone else. But with her around I get all caught up in my thoughts and when I see her it's like I have tunnel vision. And I mean, that's ridiculous right? I hardly know her."

"I don't think it's all that crazy." Wes says as he rolls over to his side. "Sometimes you just have a connection with someone from the jump." His phone buzzes and a smile graces his face and I know there's only one person who can make him smile like that.

"Speaking of people who incite immediate connections, how is Layne?"

Layne is Wesley's best friend from high school that he's been in love with forever. He's just too damn scared to tell her how he really feels so he lingers in the friend zone and gets by with his one night stands.

"She says she's good. I don't think she's liking London as much as she thought she would. The other night on the phone she mentioned a possible move back to the states." There's an unmistakable hint of hope in his voice.

"Maybe you could convince her to move to Charleston."

"Yeah, maybe..." He brushes me off. "But we're talking about you right now. So, the girl. Have you made a move yet?"

My cheeks feel like they're on fire. "I'm trying. I drove her home from the bar after the game the other night and we've been texting but I don't know that she's interested in me the way I'm interested in her. I was pretty straightforward with my intentions and she didn't seem put off, but she also didn't leap into my arms and kiss me."

Wesley laughs. And doesn't stop for at least a full minute.

"What the fuck's so funny?"

"Your brain man." Okay, that hurt a bit. "No, no I'm not trying to be a dick. Look, you're so structured. Your whole life is about your routines. I've been rooming with you long enough to know that you're probably the most tidy man I've ever seen and you like things done a specific way in a certain order and that's fine. We all have our quirks but you can't make relationships follow a routine. There's no step by step process for how things happen."

I swallow down the bile that had risen in my throat when Wes hit the nail on the head about the way I organize my life.

"It's not so cut and dry. There's no order for how things play out with matters of the heart and you can't just rush through the process. It's not meet, flirt, kiss, fuck, marry, kids, die. Or, well, maybe it is but there's a lot more to it than that and people don't always move at the same pace. You can't just expect her to immediately want you because you've finally decided to be interested in a woman."

I don't...do I?

"Aren't all women supposed to want hockey players though? Isn't that part of the appeal to play?" I ask, half-joking and half-serious since I've been privy to the benefits the profession has reaped for my teammates.

"Honestly Hansen, the right woman shouldn't give a fuck what you do for a living."

AN: Enjoy the bromance that is Wes + Hayes 

And also Hayes little screwed up head that is modeled after mine 

If you've made it this far thank you! I love you! - Sav